My Top 3 “Go-To” Traditional Foods For Trim Healthy Mama {purist} #AskWardee 064

What are your top 3 “go-to” traditional foods for Trim Healthy Mama? –asks Andrea T.

Only 3, Andrea???

I actually made a list of 19 traditional foods you need to do THM (click here), but for today’s #AskWardee I’ll try to keep it just to 3. 🙂

Be sure to check out the full list of 19, ok?

Ok, so my top 3 foods for doing Trim Healthy Mama with traditional foods… that’s what we’re tackling on this week’s #AskWardee.

I broadcast #AskWardee live each Wednesday at 10am Pacific (1pm Eastern) on Periscope and Facebook Live. Both the podcast and video replay of this week’s show are below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to #AskWardee on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, or the Podcasts app.

at 23:34 – I said egg yolks go in E meals — oops, I meant S meals 🙂

The Question: What Are Your Top 3 Traditional Foods For Trim Healthy Mama?

Andrea T. asks:

Hi, Wardee. I’ve been wanting to follow Trim Healthy Mama with Traditional Foods, like you did to lose so much weight. I need simple, though, and I know I’m going to need some go-to foods to always keep around. So I’m curious… what are your top 3 foods that you turn to again and again for quick and healthy meals and snacks? Because when I start it, I’m sure I’ll need some go-to foods for when there’s nothing prepared. Thanks for any insight or advice!

My Answer:

Andrea, you’re absolutely right. When you have nothing else prepared, you need some go-to foods. And yes, I have some.

I will try to keep it to 3, but to be honest, my list of 19 traditional foods you need to do THM is where the full scoop is. 🙂

My THM Story

The brief version of my story is that between May 2014 and May 2015, I lost more than 30 pounds following Trim Healthy Mama with Traditional Foods.

I wanted to lose weight but I didn’t want to stray from what the family was eating, nor did I want to purchase other kinds of foods.

I found it was 100% possible to do THM this way. Rather than eat different foods, I simply changed the way I combined them at each meal and snack.

Now, I’m not going to go into the whole idea behind Trim Healthy Mama (the book covers it all) except to say that because both fat and sugar are fuel sources, you only eat 1 of them at each meal or snack — along with protein. Doing this reduces your total caloric load so you’re not storing excess as fat, yet eating all the food types maintains or increases your metabolism so you can dip into and burn stored fat.

It really worked for me without me feeling any deprivation. I got to eat nearly everything! I even ate more bread and carbs than I had been before, ironically.

And if you’d like a free 1-week menu plan that I put together that’s a lot like the foods I ate (and still eat), click here to sign up.

You can read more about my experience:

• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
• A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
• If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again…
• 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {the Traditional Food Way}

My Top 3 “Go-To” THM Foods

Ready for my top 3? This is going to be hard… 😉

Oh, you need to know these codes:

• S = Satisfying = fat+protein meal or snack
• E = Energizing = carb+protein meal or snack
• FP = Fuel Pull = neither carbs nor fat, may or may not contain protein

1. Sourdough Bread — E

On THM, you can still eat bread! Only you want to eat small amounts and preferably soured. This is because the souring reduces the starch; the sourdough culture has eaten it during the souring time.

Well, our no-knead sourdough and the English muffins are not only super easy, they’re sourdough, and they have no fat in the dough or for cooking. This makes them ideal for E meals and snacks (alongside protein and without fat).

Go here for my free no-knead einkorn sourdough bread — also includes instructions for making your sourdough starter.

Go here for the Sourdough English Muffin recipe — I use water, not milk. I do not add any sweetener. I use einkorn flour and starter.

I eat these 2 breads a lot in E meals, such as:

• E toast with cheese — toast the bread then spread with homemade low-fat cottage cheese or soft cheese (no fat)
• E salad with bread — have the bread (toasted or a fresh slice) alongside a salad topped with wild salmon that’s tossed with yogurt or cheese (a quick low fat dressing is to blend yogurt or cheese until smooth with herbs, salt, etc.) (no fat)

2. Cultured Dairy (Low-Fat) — FP

The beauty of cultured dairy is that it’s so versatile. The way I make my homemade cultured dairy, it’s a Fuel Pull (FP) food which means it has neither fats nor carbs so it can be eaten in either the S or E setting.

I start with raw dairy, and I skim most of the cream off before or after culturing, leaving behind a low-fat dairy food. (No — I’m not afraid of fat. I keep all the cream and make butter out of it which I enjoy in plentiful quantities in S meals.)

And, because I culture my cheese and yogurt for at least 24 hours (sometimes more!), the lactose is virtually all gone, leaving the dairy without any carbs.

So basically it’s all protein — and that means I can “dress it up” and eat it in an S or E setting, such as:

• E sandwich — homemade soft cheese with sourdough English muffins or bread (no fat)
• S smoothie — add coconut oil or cream to the smoothie along with other ingredients (no carbs)
• E smoothie — add fruit to the smoothie along with other ingredients (no fat)
• E yogurt — bowl of yogurt with berries or berry sauce (no fat)
• E dressing — turn yogurt or cheese into a no-fat salad dressing by blending smooth with spices/herbs (no fat)

Here’s how to make homemade raw milk yogurt using your Instant Pot. Or go here for my recipe that uses a dehydrator (you could use a cooler instead).

The low-fat cheese… I’m thinking of showing you how I do it in a future #AskWardee or video. Let me know if you’d like to see that. If there’s enough interest, I’ll consider it.

3. Natural Protein — S

Protein, protein, protein. It’s a big need we have anyway. And on Trim Healthy Mama, you want good protein at every meal or snack.

My favorites: wild salmon, grass-fed beef, organic/pastured chicken, and pastured eggs.

Grass-fed beef and wild salmon are naturally lean proteins and therefore can be combined with fat for an S meal or carbs for an E meal.

With chicken, the dark meat is higher fat (for S meals) and the light meat is lower fat (for E meals). Separating the 2 types of chicken meat is easy to do — and I do it all the time.

Eggs — You’ve got lots of options! Fried eggs (S), egg whites for Trim Healthy pancakes (E), egg yolks in homemade mayonnaise (S). Eggs are versatile, and I use a lot of them!

Meal ideas:

• E stuffed eggs (photo above) — stuff the egg whites with wild salmon (tossed with yogurt/spices) and eat with bread or crackers and sauerkraut (no fat)
• E salad — top salad greens with wild salmon or light meat chicken and dressing from yogurt/cheese blended with herbs/spices (no fat)
• S salad — top salad greens with wild salmon, cooked ground beef, or dark meat chicken with olive oil & vinegar dressing (no carbs)
• S eggs — eggs fried in butter or bacon grease (no carbs)
• E pancakes — the Trim Healthy pancakes from the book made with cottage cheese, oats, and egg whites (no fat)
• E sandwiches (photo below) — make a wild salmon salad (toss salmon with yogurt/spices) and put on sourdough English muffins, no-knead bread, or Trim Healthy pancakes from the book (no fat)

Bottom Line

These 3 go-to traditional foods keep me covered for Trim Healthy Mama. I don’t need any other recipe. If I could add a 4th, 5th, or 6th, I would add salad greens, berries, and stevia, because they add flavor and dimension to the 3 staples I just mentioned.

Helpful Links:

• FREE Traditional Food + Trim Healthy Mama 1-Week Menu Plan
• FREE no-knead einkorn sourdough bread
• Sourdough English Muffin recipe (blog post)
• FREE raw milk yogurt (using dehydrator) — or Instant Pot version
• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
• A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
• If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again…
• 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {the Traditional Food Way}
• Trim Healthy Mama Plan Book

Looking for more Trim Healthy Mamma Tips?

• 5 Tips To Help You Stay On Trim Healthy Mama… Even During The Holidays! #AskWardee 102
• Trim Healthy Holidays: 8 Tips To Stay On The THM Plan (despite mashed potatoes & pie!)
• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
• A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
• If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods Over Again… (KYF147)
• 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {The Traditional Food Way}
• 43 Trim Healthy Mama Thanksgiving Recipes {with nourishing foods!}

 

What are your top 3 traditional foods for Trim Healthy Mama?

Disclaimer: I am not authorized to teach Trim Healthy Mama; I am merely sharing what works for me. For more in-depth help, you’ll want to join a THM facebook group to get guidance from authorized admins.